How can I make a "lighter" cheese sauce?

Question

I am looking to make some cheese-sauce filled choux pastry balls as an appetizer.

I was considering making a classical mornay sauce for the filling. But when it goes cold, I find it tends to be quite heavy, and I want to avoid it becoming nausiating.

Here is my Mornay sauce recipe:

125g roux (half butter, half flour)
1 litre milk
300g cheddar cheese
salt, pepper and nutmeg, to taste

Here is what I've thought of to make it lighter:

1) Egg whites, beaten to peaks, to make a kinda soufflé-esque filling. But I would have liked to avoid re-cooking to pastry balls after filling, and don't really like the idea of raw egg whites.

2) Whipped cream, folding it into the cold mornay sauce.

3) Cream cheese, folding it into the cold mornal sauce.

Has anyone tried anything like this to make a lighter mornay sauce? Any other suggestions?

Answer 1

I see two options for you.

1. The author of this Q How would I produce (stable) foamy bechamel sauce? reports success using gelatin. That Q is Bechamel sauce, which is the base of Mornay.

or

2. Use of an immersion blender to incorporate air into the sauce, making it a lighter texture. You can immersion blend at two points in the process: after the milk was thickened by the roux and/or after melting the cheese in. (I believe this is where @Pat Summer's answer was leading to)

(immersion blender)

Answer 2

Adjusting the amount of roux in the recipe can affect the consistency of the product. Play both with the volume of roux added, and also with the ratio of flour and butter. Generally speaking, higher ratios of butter to flour will decrease the viscosity of the product. A "slack" roux is generally appropriate for sauces, where peaks form from stirring quickly flow back as a liquid rapidly.

Roux's also tend to become quite solid when cold, as the fat (butter) is saturated at room temperature. If you use a different thickening agent (Corn starch, gelatin, a thickening gum) you might achieve better results in a dish being served cold.

Another option would be to adjust the ratio of cheese to liquid, though that would serve to make the sauce less rich, not necessarily less dense.

Answer 3

instead of melting in the cheese, whip it with high-speed gizmo. stays fluffy even when cold

pour over hot mixture and give it a few pulses